Evansville Courier & Press
MOUNT VERNON, Ind. - SABIC Innovative Plastics officials announced Wednesday the company is taking additional cost-cutting action to address economic challenges and position itself for the future.
In mid-March, 103 to 125 jobs are expected to be cut, said Shelia Naab, SABIC's communications leader for the company's Mount Vernon operations.
Though employees were already being told to expect the jobs cuts, Naab said it was uncertain at this time which specific jobs would be eliminated.
Last December, the Mount Vernon plant laid off 86 workers, including 19 salaried employees and 67 hourly employees.
Naab said the latest cost-cutting steps, effective immediately, include:
* A base salary reduction for executives. Naab declined to say by how much the salaries will be reduced.
* A freeze on the pay of salaried employees. The employees will receive no more raises this year.
* A reduction in the company's 401k match from 50 percent to 15 percent.
* And, retirement incentives to eligible employees. Naab said she couldn't provide details of the incentives.
Earlier, she said, SABIC took these steps in addition to laying off the 86 workers:
* Eliminated all overtime.
* Implemented more efficient manufacturing processes.
* Reduced the company's finishing operations from a seven-day work week to a five-day work week.
* Better planned its futurre maintenance to curb costly emergencies.
* And, significantly reduced its reliance on contract workers.
"Like countless companies around the world, the challenging global economy has resulted in declining order rates for SABIC Innovative Plastics," Naab said Wednesday.
"During these challenging economic times, we are having to make some tough decisions about how we operate our business."
Naab said the workers were told Wednesday of the company's plans to reduce costs.
"We owe that to our employees, this community and our customers," Naab said.
"Our key customers in the automotive, construction and consumer goods industries continue to struggle, and we must do more to address the economic situation for the long-term health of the company."
Nabb said SABIC will focus on supporting employees and helping them during the transition by offering severance packages, which includes pay, benefits and outplacement services.